Pubdate: Sat, 17 May 2014
Source: Forum, The  (Fargo, ND)
Copyright: 2014 Forum Communications Co.
Contact:  http://www.in-forum.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/991
Author: Don Davis, Forum News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TOOK A STRANGE TRIP ON ITS WAY TO MINNESOTA 
LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL

ST. PAUL - Gov. Mark Dayton said early in the year that medical 
marijuana would not pass the Minnesota Legislature this year.

Dayton said there would not be enough time in a short legislative 
session (it began Feb. 25) to reach a compromise between law 
enforcement officers who oppose medical marijuana and those who 
support the concept.

Instead of legalizing it, Dayton proposed an extensive clinical study 
by the Mayo Clinic. He also wanted a report about how it is working 
in the 21 states that already allow medical marijuana.

Some children would have been helped by his plan, Dayton said, but it 
went nowhere.

Ironically, even though Dayton said he opposed bills introduced early 
in the session written to help patients who say nothing else can help 
them, he was the eventual inspiration for a final deal on medical 
marijuana that was reached Thursday and passed by the House and Senate Friday.

Much like the route taken by a successful Vikings stadium bill, 
getting medical marijuana to the verge of passing featured many fits 
and starts, with the concept looking dead at points. Legislative 
leaders needed to get involved for the measure to make progress.

It all started a year ago, when the 2013 session was nearing an end 
and Rep. Carly Melin, D-Hibbing, began floating the idea about 
pushing a medical marijuana bill.

Melin's inspiration was another Hibbing resident, Amelia Weaver. The 
girl's parents, Angie and Josh Weaver, told the lawmaker about her 
seizures, up to 50 a day. Marijuana could help ease the situation, 
they told Melin.

Despite Dayton's insistence on getting law enforcement officers on 
board, Melin and Senate bill author Sen. Scott Dibble, D-Minneapolis, 
pushed ahead.

Not much happened on the issue for a while, at least in public.

Melin's bill got a House committee hearing, and passed after Angie 
Weaver and others told their emotional stories.

The Weavers, joined by many others who think marijuana can help them 
or a loved one, have almost lived at the Capitol while lobbying for 
the Melin and Dibble bills. Their testimony generated plenty of 
support, but it was the governor who really got things moving, 
whether he meant to or not.

Stuck at home in a body cast from a hip injury and resulting surgery, 
Dayton at one point told reporters during a conference call that he 
was told marijuana is available on street corners in every Minnesota 
city. That infuriated medical marijuana supporters, who read his 
comments as saying he was advising them to buy the plant illegally.

The governor's comments inspired medical marijuana advocates to work harder.

Dayton invited medical marijuana advocates into the governor's 
residence to discuss the issue. They left with mixed feelings, glad 
he listened but upset that he still opposed their cause because 
police did not support it and because it had not received thorough 
medical tests.

Shortly before the Legislature began its Easter-Passover recess in 
April, Dayton complained that legislators were "hiding behind their 
desks" on the marijuana issue.

That comment caused Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, D-Cook, to 
react. He ordered up a Senate committee hearing before the recess. 
The first Senate committee passed the bill soon after lawmakers 
returned to work, setting off a domino effect of Senate committee 
votes in favor of the measure.

As the Senate bill began advancing, House leaders opted to bypass 
most committees, where the Melin bill had stalled, and sent its 
version of the bill to one last committee.

By then, the House bill had been trimmed back to include fewer 
patients and just one marijuana distribution site in Minnesota. Law 
enforcement officials said a more widespread distribution system 
would be difficult to control.

The House plan also banned the use of plant marijuana, while the 
Senate one allowed crushed marijuana plants to be used in vaporizing machines.

The Senate bill retained its original 55-site distribution system and 
other things Dayton did not like.

The two chambers overwhelmingly passed their bills as the session's 
end came into sight, setting up a series of private meetings among 
Melin, Dibble and others.

On Thursday, they announced their final deal that basically was the 
pared-back House bill with more distribution sites added and a few 
other changes. A short conference committee meeting resulted in the 
bill passing on to the House and Senate.

The medical marijuana bill took a path unlike routine bills that 
usually go through committees with no leadership involvement. But on 
big issues like marijuana and the stadium, state leaders usually need 
to give things a nudge, or a major push.

The difference in this case is that Dayton' comments may have given 
medical marijuana the strength it needed to reach the final compromise.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom